Car bunk and stake.



W. HOUGHTON.

CAR BUNK AND STAKE. APPLIOATION FILED 1120.11, 1913.

Patented July 28, 1914.

lNI/ENTOR I Q ga k a a lu rmu k I .A m\

WITNESSES:

THE NORRIS PIi'IhRS PHOTO-L.'THD.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

WILLARD nonenron, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

CAR BUNK AND STAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented hr 28, 1914,

Application filed December 11, 1913. Serial No. 805,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD HOUGHTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CarBunks and Stakes, of which the following is a specifi cation.

This invention relates to car stakes and bunks for logging cars and, more particularly, to improvements in means for de-. tachably securing the stakes to the car-bunk.

The object of my improvements is to provide devices of the above named type which will embody relatively few parts of a durable character, will not readily become deranged and which may be conveniently operated both in the securement of a stake to the bunk and in releasing the stake therefrom for the discharge of logs from a car.

With these ends in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential features of which are set. forth in the appended claims and the preferred forms of embodiment of which are hereinafter specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification. p 1

In said drawings, Figure '1 represents a longitudinal vertical sectional view showing a car-bunk applied to a car platform and having a stake at each end of the bunk, one of said stakes being illustrated in operative \position and the other in its dropped or inoperative position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 is an underside plan view of an end of the bunk together with the stake and means for securing the same. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken through 4: 4: of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional view through 55 of Fig. 1.

The reference numeral 10 designates the deck and 11, 11 the longitudinal sill members such as ordinarily used in the construction of a platform of a railway flat-car. Rigidly secured upon said deck is a bunk 12 of somewhat greater length than the width of the car, and consisting of upright side members 13 which are connected intermediate their height by a floor member 14 to provide a channel 15 above and a tunnel 16 below said floor member. The floor member 14 is of less length than the side members.

13 to afford a recess at each end of the bunk to accommodate the lower end of the respective stakes A and B.

The lower end of a car stake is adapted to be inserted within a transverse groove 17 provided in the outer arm 18 of a stakesupportinglever which is fulcrumed upon a bolt 19 which engages the side membersof' the bunk near the end thereof. The other, or inner, arm 20 of said lever isengageable from above'by a block 21 which is movable longitudinally of the bunk in ways provided; by guide-strips 22 formed with or rigidly'secured to the side members '13 of the bunk. Said block is connected by arod 23 with a controllinglevei-Q positioned near the remote end of the bunk with respect to the stake and'extends downwardly through a hole 10 provided in the car-deck to a distancebelow the bottom of the sills I 1 A stake is preferably provided with" a pro tuberance 25 to engage against the under side of the bunk floor to prevent the uplifting of the stake which would tend to withdraw the same from groove 17 of the associated supporting lever when the latter is in operative posit-ion. When in its upright position and borne by its supporting lever, the stake is prevented from tilting inwardly by being juxtaposed with the end of the bunk floor and from tilting outwardly by means of chains 26 disposed at opposite sides of the stake. Said chains are connected with fastenings, such" as staples 27, secured-to the sides of the bunk and with a bar 28 which extends transversely through the stake. The stake is accordingly provided-with vertically arranged slots 9-9 in its side elements 30 to receive the bar 28.;

The lower ends of said slots are located at such relative height that the bar" will rest thereagainstwhen the stake is in its operative or-lever-supported position, as illustrated at the left hand side of Fig. l.

lVhen the stake is disengaged from its supporting lever, the stake falls until arrested by the bar encountering the upper ends of the slots, as shown at the right side of Fig; 1 and whereupon a stake will be suspended by the chains with its upper end somewhat below the level of the top of the bunk so as not to interfere with the discharge of logs from the car.

A controlling lever 24 is pivotally connected, as shown, to a staple 31 depending from the bunk floor 14. For securing the lever in position to retain a block 21 against accidental displacement when engaging a lever-arm 20, the lever is engaged in a notch 33 of a bar 32 which is secured to the undersides of the adjacent sills 11, 11

34 represents a resilient arm secured from one of its ends to a sill, as 11 and arranged to yieldingly hold the lever 24 in such notch.

When it is desired to release a stake from its supporting lever, the controlling lever is first swung laterally out of the bar notch 33 and in opposition to the power of the arm 34. Being thus withdrawn from the notch, the lever is swung into position such as shown at the left of Fig. 1, whereupon the block 21 is pulled by the connected rod 23 away from lever-arm 20 which permits the tilting downward of the lever-arm 18 which is accomplished by the weight of the stake plus such pressure as may be applied thereto from the load bearing against the stake and the chain connections therefor. The released stake then falls below the plane of the top of the bunk so that the car load of logs may be readily discharged.

It is to be noted that a stake upon being released drops almost vertically and, by the provision of the slots 29, a relatively large drop is afforded with the use of a high stake and comparatively short chain connections.

What I claim, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a car bunk, a stake, a sup porting lever therefor, a fulcrum support for the lever and secured to the bunk, and a block movable longitudinally of the bunk for selectively engaging or disengaging the lever to render the same operative or inoperative to support the stake.

2. In apparatus of the classdescribed, a

bunk, a stake, a lever provided with agroove to receive the lower end of the stake, a block movable in guideways provided in the bunk for releasably engaging with said lever to hold the same in stake-supporting position.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a car bunk, a stake therefor, means engageable with the lower end of said stake for supporting the latter, and flexible connections between the bunk and the stake to prevent the outward tilting of the same with respect to the bunk, said connections being attached to the stake so as to afford limited vertical movements of the stake relative to said connections.

4. The combination with a car-bunk pro vided with a recess in its end, a stake adapted to be received in the bunk recess, a bar extending transversely through the stake and connected therewith for a limited vertical movement with respect to the stake, flexible connections between said bar and the bunk, and releasable means for supporting said stake. v

5. The combination with a car-bunk provided with a recess in its end, a stake adapted to bereceived in the bunk recess, a bar extending transversely through the stake and connected therewith for a limited vertical movement with respect to the stake, connections between said bar and the bunk, and releasable means arranged to be controlled from the opposite end of the bunk from said stake for supporting the la ter.

6. The combination with a car bunk provided with a recess in its end, of a stake adapted to be received in said recess, flexible connections between the bunk and the stake, a lever for supporting said stake and releasably securing the lower end thereof against outward movement, a block engageable with said lever, and means provided adjacent the bunk end which is remote from said stake for controlling the block to render the same operative or inoperative with respect to said lever.

7; The combination with a car bunk, a stake adapted to be received in a recess provided within the end of the bunk, a tiltable means pivotally connected to the bunk, and means movable longitudinally of the bunk and engageable with the first named means whereby the stake is releasably supported.

Signed at Seattle, lVash, this 29th day of November, 1913.

WVILLARD HOUGHTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

